I never expected to be so lucky today; I actually ran into a rich guy.
"You're smart enough to hand over all the gold you have on you. If I'm in a good mood, I'll take pity on you and spare your lives."
A burly man smiled smugly.
"Gold? I have plenty of it!"
Li Yao tossed the gold ingot into the air, caught it in his hand, and said, "Let's see if you have the ability to take it!"
The burly man's face darkened, and he roared, "Looks like you're determined to force me into a bloodbath! Brothers, charge! Kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a group of bandits, brandishing gleaming broadswords, slashed at Li Yao and Ning Caichen.
"Oh no, oh no, I'm doomed this time!"
Ning Caichen was so frightened that his legs went weak, he closed his eyes, and collapsed to the ground, covering his head with his hands, too afraid to open his eyes.
But the next moment, he heard a series of shrill screams all around him, followed by a series of heavy thuds as objects fell to the ground.
"What...what's going on?"
Ning Caichen opened his eyes in great fear, looked around, and found a group of bandits lying haphazardly on the ground, groaning incessantly, their expressions pained, no longer the fierce and menacing figures they had been before.
The burly man who had been giving orders looked terrified, as if he had been frightened by something. Suddenly, his large cleaver fell to the ground with a clang.
Run! Run!
The burly man leading the group immediately turned his horse around and fled for his life.
The bandits lying on the ground were terrified, scrambling and tumbling as they fled in all directions.
"Those who rob and plunder, and disregard human life, all deserve to die!"
Li Yao remained expressionless, reached out and grabbed a tree to the side, then waved his hand behind a group of bandits.
In an instant, the group of bandits, including the burly leader, stopped fleeing and collapsed into the muddy water with thuds.
And the clothes on their backs all had a bloody gash.
If you look closely, you'll see that behind each of them, a leaf is embedded in their wound.
"Leaves...can kill people?"
Ning Caichen was dumbfounded, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Impressive skills! Impressive skills!"
Suddenly, amidst the wind and rain, a man clad in armor appeared before Li Yao and Ning Caichen.
Li Yao sized the man up and asked, "And who are you?"
"My surname is Xiahou, and I am a swordsman!"
The armored man cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Your martial arts are quite good. I would like to spar with you."
"So it was him!"
Li Yao knew that in the original story, this Xiahou swordsman had always wanted to compete with Yan Chixia for the title of the world's number one swordsman.
Unfortunately, this guy lacked self-control and was bewitched by Nie Xiaoqian's beauty, becoming the tree spirit's meal.
Li Yao waved his hand and said, "No interest!"
Then, he said to Ning Caichen, who was still in a daze, "Let's go!"
"Wait!"
Xiahou the swordsman drew his longsword, and with a flash of light, blocked Li Yao's path, shouting loudly, "Spar with me, and I'll let you go!"
"What if I say I don't want to!"
Li Yao glanced at Xiahou Jianke indifferently.
"Then I have no choice but to offend you!"
A fierce glint flashed in Xiahou Jianke's eyes as he swung his sword and thrust it towards Li Yao.
Seeing Li Yao standing still, Ning Caichen anxiously shouted, "Brother Li, his sword is about to strike! Dodge quickly!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xiahou the swordsman's sword was less than half an inch from Li Yao's chest.
Ning Caichen couldn't bear to see the bloody scene that was about to unfold, and was about to close his eyes.
However, to his surprise, Xiahou Jianke seemed to have been hit by something, and his entire body suddenly flew backward.
The longsword in Xiahou's hand also broke into pieces.
"What...what's going on?"
Ning Caichen was completely bewildered and had no idea what had happened.
"It's so fast, so incredibly fast!"
Xiahou the swordsman collapsed to the ground, his face filled with terror.
Although he didn't see Li Yao's movements clearly, he knew that he had indeed been hit by Li Yao's palm.
His swordsmanship was known for its speed, but even he couldn't see Li Yao's movements clearly.
That's absolutely incredible!
"Xiahou Swordsman, you possess unparalleled swordsmanship, yet you do not use it to rid the people of evil, eliminate bandits and corrupt officials, but instead strive for the empty title of the world's number one swordsman. It is truly despicable!"
Li Yao glanced at Xiahou the swordsman on the ground and shook his head slightly.
Then, he turned to Ning Caichen and said, "Let's go!"
"oh!"
It took Ning Caichen a long time to recover from his shock. Seeing that Li Yao had already walked far away, he quickly chased after him, calling out, "Wait for me!"
Amidst the wind and rain, Xiahou the swordsman recalled how, for the past seven years, he had relentlessly pursued Yan Chixia in a duel to claim the title of the greatest swordsman in the world.
As a result, he lost to Yan Chixia's sword every time.
However, he was still able to fight Yan Chixia for dozens of rounds each time.
Today, Li Yao defeated him with just one move.
This shows that there are always higher levels and more capable people out there!
His swordsmanship was utterly insignificant compared to Li Yao's.
He fought for seven years, but what did he actually achieve?
Xiahou the swordsman thought about many things.
Li Yao's last words kept echoing in his mind.
"You possess unparalleled swordsmanship, yet you do not use it to rid the people of evil, eliminate bandits and corrupt officials, but instead strive for the empty title of the world's greatest swordsman!"
That's right, he shouldn't be vying for the empty title of the world's greatest swordsman.
With corrupt officials in power and bandits running rampant, he should use his swordsmanship to benefit the people and rid them of these corrupt officials and bandits.
With this thought in mind, Xiahou Jianke's eyes hardened, and he immediately got up from the ground and disappeared into the wind and rain.
Chapter 411 The Bewitching Nie Xiaoqian
Guobei County was not large, probably similar to a market town in later times.
Several crisscrossing streets are lined with shops from all walks of life.
However, among them, the most prosperous businesses, besides gambling dens and restaurants, were coffin shops.
In this chaotic world where demons roam freely, many people die unjustly almost every moment.
Therefore, the coffin shops here are doing very well.
Of course, there are many more poor people who simply cannot afford coffins and end up being dumped in mass graves.
On the streets, there were many fierce-looking constables, each holding a knife in one hand and a thick stack of wanted posters in the other. When they encountered a stranger, they would compare the portrait on the wanted poster with the actual criminal in order to collect the reward money.
Wherever they went, chaos ensued.
When Li Yao and Ning Caichen arrived in the county town, they naturally encountered these greedy and insatiable yamen runners.
Of course, Li Yao showed no mercy to these yamen runners who dared to offend him. He threw them into the air, one in each hand, and didn't care where they would eventually land.
The surrounding people, seeing that Li Yao had taught these greedy and arrogant yamen runners a lesson, immediately burst into applause and cheers.
These people had long been fed up with the evil deeds of these corrupt officials.
However, they were powerless and dared not speak out against the evil deeds of the yamen runners.
Now that someone dared to publicly reprimand these yamen runners, everyone was naturally delighted.
Next, Ning Caichen went to a shop to collect payment.
Li Yao had no intention of going there, but instead inquired about the location of Lanruo Temple.
When the people here learned that Li Yao wanted to go to Lanruo Temple, they immediately became mysterious.
Because Li Yao had just reprimanded the yamen runners, some well-meaning people advised him not to go to Lanruo Temple, saying that there were unclean things in Lanruo Temple.
Li Yao simply smiled at this.
Having ascertained the location of Lanruo Temple, he turned and headed towards it.
Lanruo Temple is located in the suburbs of Guobei County, about three and a half miles east of the city.
After leaving the county town, the road was deserted and uninhabited.
Li Yao rode his spear and soon discovered a dense forest filled with demonic energy.
In the dense forest, one can vaguely see a dilapidated group of buildings.
The distinctive pagoda of the temple reveals that it is Lanruo Temple, a place that evokes fear and trepidation among the locals.
Li Yao flew over Lanruo Temple, then landed and put away his divine spear.
The gate of Lanruo Temple was ajar, overgrown with weeds. The vermilion paint on the gate had long since peeled off, leaving it mottled and uneven. The stone statues at the entrance were also lying on the ground, devoid of the solemnity and majesty of the Buddhist temple.
The temple's plaque was tilted to one side and covered with cobwebs, but the three large characters "Lanruo Temple" could still be seen carved on it.